Ruff Cutts – Twisted Sister

By 1982, Twisted Sister had already been haunting nightclubs in and around Manhattan for nigh on ten years, and yet they still couldn't get arrested where a record deal was concerned. Ironically, it would take a British independent label on the verge of bankruptcy to realize that this rough-hewn gem might actually be worth polishing. For their part, TS would have probably agreed to a contract with the mob had one been forthcoming, so it was with no small enthusiasm that they promptly signed on the dotted line and started cutting their aptly titled vinyl debut, the Ruff Cuts EP. And a right corker it was too, with all four of its tracks eventually finding their way onto the group's blockbuster future albums. "What You Don't Know (Sure Can Hurt You)" went AWOL for a few years before turning up as a bonus cut on the CD version of first album Under the Blade, whose vicious title track and the punchy "Shoot 'Em Down" were also featured here, and their painfully saccharine cover of "Leader of the Pack" was later misguidedly rehashed for 1985's ill-fated Come Out and Play fiasco. Of course, in its final form the Ruff Cuts EP has been unavailable for years now, but three of its songs eventually made an appearance on 1999's Club Daze: The Studio Sessions, Vol. 1. ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide